FDLE Announces New Registered Sex Offender Email Alert System

May 27, 2008

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has announced a new email alert system that will alert you when a registered sex offender moves in your area or within a radius of any other designated location. Citizens can also opt to track address changes reported by selected registered offenders or predators. The service is offered statewide and at no charge.

“I am proud that Floridians have access to one of the most comprehensive sexual offender and predator registration systems in the nation,” said Governor Charlie Crist. “This new sophisticated tracking tool will actively notify citizens of updates of most interest to them and their families.”

FDLE developed the notification service at the direction of the Florida Legislature as part of the state’s compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act. Citizens may select an unlimited number of addresses and/or offenders and predators to track, and can update their selections at any time. The alert system will send e-mail notifications within 24 to 48 hours of an address change to the state’s registry.

FDLE has made multiple enhancements to the Web site. In 2005, in conjunction with then Attorney General Charlie Crist, the Department added a neighborhood search function that allows users to enter any address in Florida and search the registry for sexual offender and predator registrants within a one quarter to five mile radius. It also generates maps of where each sex offender and predator resides and provides information on vehicles and/or vessels registered to sexual offenders and predators. In 2007, FDLE added the ability to search for an e-mail address or instant message screen name to determine if it belongs to a registered offender or predator.

Through the Public Safety Information Act of 1997, Florida became the first state to list sexual offenders and predators on the Internet and to make the same information available through a 24-hour a day hotline. The FDLE Sex Offender/Predator Registry currently houses data on more than 47,000 registered sex offenders and predators and the Web site averages more than a half million searches per month. Citizens can register for the alerts by visiting www.flsexoffender.net.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News